Course design: 4.25/5
Scenery: 4.5/5
Tees: 4.5/5
Signage: 4/5
Navigation: 2/5
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Average/Total: 3.85/5 rounded to 4/5
I've played this course quite a few times, including several Fire in the Sky tourneys and I always found it to be challenging and enjoyable, especially once I learned the layout of the holes. I just played a casual round last weekend and was pleasantly surprised to find that it has been revamped! They redesigned some holes, added three new holes, added full color tee signs! Kudos to the Norwalk DGA, who I assume spearheaded this effort!
Let me tell you about this course. First, it is epic in length. 24 holes, and if you play from the longs (which I recommend) you're looking at 8,000+ feet of course! Prepare for a long, challenging round. There is every kind of shot here. Straight, hyzer, anhyzer, shot-shaping. You have wooded, open and water holes. The only thing lacking is any significant elevation, but that's a small complaint amidst all the goodies that await you here.
The design is a bit wonky, so let's walk you through the layout so you know where you're going (this is for long tees). After you shoot Hole 1, turn around and head toward the lake. Hole 2 plays across the lake. Be very careful not to bite off more than you chew trying to shoot over the lake. I always throw a RHBH slight hyzer well to the right of the lake. After hole 2, go right, into the woods and follow the path. Hole 3's tee will be in the small clearing after the wooded path ends, to your left down a small hill. You will be shooting a fairly straight shot and the basket is tucked inside the wood line on the left side, near the end of the woods. Hole 4 isn't too hard to find...just walk forward from 3's target, staying in the woods. Once you shoot 4, take a left, about 10 to 11 o'clock from the target and go toward the lake. Hole 5's tee is right next to the lake and the basket is fairly straight ahead on a point, with lake behind and on the right. After Hole 5, turn around and go into the woods behind Hole 5's basket. Hole 6's tee is just inside those woods. You'll be shooting toward the lake at the hanging basket, fairly straight ahead. After 6, walk straight ahead, in between the lake and the wood line. Once the woods ends on your right, you'll see hole 7's tee. Hole 7's target is about 20' to the right of the solo tree that is fairly straight ahead from the tee and is very near the wood line. Be careful not to go into the parking lot as that is OB. To get to hole 8, walk straight ahead like you're going back to Hole 1. Hole 8's tee is across the street from Hole 1's tee and you'll be shooting into the woods for Hole 8's target. Once you've completed 8, turn around and take the path on your left out of the woods. That leads you to Hole 9's tee. Hole 9's target is to the left and near the water.
After 9, turn around and walk toward the main park road. Hole 10's tee is on the other side of the main park road and you'll be shooting a long shot, slightly to your right and into the woods. The basket sits just inside the wood line. After 10, turn left and stay in the woods. You'll go down a small hill and 11's tee is at the bottom. You'll be shooting through the woods and across the creek, fairly straight, maybe slightly left of the tee. The target is on the side of a hill. It is often very muddy in the fairway on 11 FYI. After 11, make a right and follow the path and you'll see 12's tee. This one plays very long, through a bunch of scattered trees, with the target fairly straight ahead and toward the thicker wood line. After 12, turn left and follow the thicker wood line. There you will find Hole 13's tee and you'll be shooting the opposite direction that you shot Hole 12. Hole 13's target is the pedestal basket and it's way down there. The main park road on the right of the fairway is OB, but not the tributary road that cuts across the fairway. After 13, you'll turn right, approximately 2 o'clock from 13's target, and cross the park road, heading toward the pine tree grove. 14's tee is at the near edge of the pine grove. You'll be shooting at a basket on the opposite end of the pine grove, to the right of the tee. It's another long-ass hole. After 14, walk forward and across the park road (away from the pine grove) and Hole 15's tee will slightly to your left. Hole 15's target is another pedestal target and is located near the water. After completing 15, turn right and walk toward the park road. Hole 16's tee is near the park road. This is another HUGE hole. It plays up and over the hill. Once you get to the top of the hill, you probably have another 300+ feet to go and the target sits inside the elbow of the park road; i.e., there's OB road to the left and behind 16's basket. After 16, turn right. Hole 17's tee is just to the right of the park road and plays back in the opposite direction of Hole 16. The target is fairly straight ahead and down the hill. After 17, you'll head 7 o'clock from the basket back up the hill a bit and you'll see 18's tee. There's just a wooden post there and no tee sign. That plays to the basket heading back toward hole 1.
After 18, walk just across the park road that is beyond 18's target and you'll see 19's tee. This is a shorty technical hole with a double (maybe even triple, I can't remember) mando and an island green. After 19, turn left and walk toward the pine grove and you'll see 20's tee. That plays along the edge of the pine grove and the target has OB park road just to the left and behind it. After 20, make a right, approximately 4 o'clock from the target, go through the pine grove and go across the park road. There is 21's tee and it shoots across the lake to the giant island. This is a super long hole. You need to be able to shoot a minimum 310' drive to clear the water, so don't bitch if you read this and then end up in the drink. You do have the option to lay up at the edge of the water, leaving a very reasonable drive to get over it from there, in case you're a fraidy cat. Hole 21's target is on the other end of the island, hugging the left side of the island. After 21, turn right and you'll see 22's tee. After 22, turn and walk toward the bridge going to the mainland and you'll see 23's tee. After 23, walk back to the mainland and then make a right, following the park road. You have a fairly long trek, hugging the lake on your right and you'll see 24's tee. This is another long hole and it plays across the lake. You need a minimum, I would say, 350'-375' drive to clear the lake. Again, you do have the option to lay up at water's edge, leaving a 275'-300' drive to cross it, in case you are Clothed and Afraid. And that's it! What a long thing to read, but I wish I had this to guide me when I played it back in the day. It would've saved me a bunch of time!
Back to the review. This course is amazing. It is long, so you are playing golf here, not ace running like you're at a putt-putt course. To give you an idea on time, I played solo with no waits on holes, shot a 86, which I believe is 6 over par?, and it took me 2 hours and 47 minutes, so plan accordingly. You'll have beautiful views of the lake. The pine grove is a nice contrast to the other wooded areas.
All in all, this is a championship level course, especially with the revamping. My only real complaints are the navigation issue (which I've resolved for you) and there were several spots with extremely high grass. I think the grass issue is simply bc of the deluge of rain we had this spring and it prevented them from mowing those areas.
If you play this course, I recommend bringing a water disc and/or another disc to shoot in the high grass that is a bright color.
Have fun, this course is an adventure! I gave the signage a 4 because there was at least 1 hole that didn't have a sign (18 I think). I gave the navigation a 2 for reasons explained. The average over all the categories was 3.85, but I rounded it up to a 4. Great job on the course!